Seeing Red
by ChakuraNoMesu
Summary: "Mind your tongue, Sasuke-kun," Kabuto spoke slowly, eyes watching the other male attempt to touch his tender broken nose, trying to staunch the bleeding. "You'd do well to not speak of Lord Orochimaru as such." - A rare angry side of Kabuto surfaces.


Seeing Red

Kabuto was always reserved by default. He knew the implications of being upset and letting emotions tether on either nonexistent or overly-blatant. So he was a comfortable in-between and thus his serene personality was nearly always displayed. The physiological implications were also at stake of being overly upset or passive. Adrenaline and anger causes surges of hormones, electrical signals in synapses within one's body. If nothing else, the extreme and unnecessary emotions, Kabuto thought, were tiring and a waste of time to exude for that reason. If the term "seeing red" was anything to consider at such a spike in the reaction time and swiftness of judgement by humans, it'd be wonderful to be overly angry at times. ...If it didn't cloud your mind with pure rage, that is. It was something to work on, something to learn to suppress.

The silver-haired medical ninja wasn't interested in the least with petty displays of emotion. And he never became angry unless pushed far past the limit of his already extended patience level. It was even in his nature to fight calmly, to expend just enough energy to win a fight, nothing more and nothing less. Everything was accurate in that way, precise, just the way he preferred it.

So when his tightly clenched fist collided with the nose of the Uchiha before him, he wasn't the only one that was mildly surprised for a moment. The sickening thud of his fist against the boy's face, and the eerie crack that followed not seconds later, was music to Kabuto's ears for a split second before it actually sunk in. The raven-haired boy stumbled backwards, barely able to keep on his feet at the sheer power of the punch. Kabuto shoved chakra to his hand in that instant, aiming a sharp jolt of his energy through his fist to strike the boy harder than he believed he did... even when Sasuke shouted loudly in pain and crimson liquid spurted from his nostrils.

He was panting, chest heaving for no apparent reason, hand still in a fist at his side as he looked at the bleeding younger boy before him.

"Y-You!," Sasuke shouted, wide-eyed and cringing in pain, voice nearly cracking in sheer disbelief. "You.. you broke my nose!"

Kabuto stared at him, blinking a few times before straightening up, looking momentarily confused.

"I...," Kabuto swallowed, brows furrowing in thought as he watched the blood trickle down the boy's neck before him. His glance shifted to the side for a moment, clearing his throat before realizing what he had just done. "...Hm."

A long string of curses and rage spewed from Sasuke a few feet away in the moment and Kabuto came to his senses and plastered an emotionless expression on his face, standing straight and relaxing himself back into his normal serenity. His voice was absolutely calm despite the current situation.

"Mind your tongue, Sasuke-kun," he spoke slowly, eyes watching the other male attempt to touch his tender broken nose, trying to staunch the bleeding. "You'd do well to not speak of Lord Orochimaru as such."

Kabuto seemed outwardly normal to Sasuke. His normal placid self that the Uchiha was ready to beat the hell out of... the calmness only served to make Sasuke more angry, after all. He couldn't stand it.

But inwardly, Kabuto was in a momentary state of shock. Never had he lashed out so ruthlessly without reason. He always contemplated the situation, weighed the risks and analyzed data before making a move, so he was always preemptively striking, always one step ahead. This time, however, he didn't think... and that was exactly what had him confused. He had never felt such a rush, such a carnal need to inflict pain in an instant. Usually well-practiced and calculated with strikes, Kabuto was a man of pecularity and order, and he knew himself that was how he acted. So when he blinked and saw the blood running down the face of Sasuke in front of him, Kabuto was shocked to learn that he had no memory of making a decision to strike the boy. It just happened spontaneously, on instinct... because he had something to protect.

Sasuke Uchiha reached for his katana, ready and willing to give the medic a taste of his own medicine. Kabuto retorted with a mere stoic gaze before simply turning around and walking away from the boy without so much as another word. Sasuke's hand slowly fell from the weapon, an angry grunt escaping his lips to only accentuate the bloody mess of his face.

"Hn."

Slipping his hands into his pockets casually, Kabuto sauntered off with his usual halcyon attitude, steps leisurely and calculated, lips twitching at the edges into a faint smirk. It was almost amusing, he thought, how one could change so easily in an instant... for the sake of someone else.


End file.
